Man United vs Leeds – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Man Utd host Leeds at Old Trafford on Sunday in the English Premier League. The hosts have a game in hand but are not far off the league leaders and beating Leeds would take them right in the title race. Can Marcelo Bielsa beat one of the top sides and move towards the top half?

Man United Form

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team are in very good form in the Premier League with five wins and a draw in their last six matches. They have been falling behind in matches but coming back to win and have won six out of six on their travels in the league. Their two recent defeats have both been in the Champions League, to PSG and RB Leipzig.

Man United were 1-0 down at Everton and won 3-1 and trailed 2-0 at Southampton before winning 3-2. Then they came back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 at West Ham. That was followed by a dour 0-0 draw with Man City.

In their last match, United trailed 1-0 to Sheffield United before eventually winning 3-2. Marcus Rashford scored a brace and Anthony Martial netted his first league goal of the season.

Man United Team News

Solskjaer was without Edinson Cavani for the last match but he is close to a return. Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo remain out injured.

The coach will have to decide whether or not to rotate his side after a fine performance at Sheffield United which saw the coach revert to his post-lockdown front six with Paul Pogba starting and Mason Greenwood on the right flank.

Man United Motivation

Man United will play to win and try to arrest their poor home league form. They have won just one of their six matches at Old Trafford as teams tend to sit back and not allow them space to counter attack.

Leeds United are not one of those teams and they will play an open and attacking game. This should mean that Solskjaer’s side can sit off and use transition moments to attack. A draw would be seen as a poor result.

Leeds Form

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have struggled of late. They had been on a run of three wins and a draw (against Man City) across five Premier League matches. They’ve lost four of their last seven matches in their current run.

After 4-1 defeats against Leicester and Crystal Palace, then drew 0-0 with Arsenal. That was followed by a 1-0 win at Everton and a 3-1 loss at Chelsea. They then lost 2-1 at home to West Ham.

In their last match, Leeds thrashed injury-hit Newcastle 5-2. The score was 2-2 after 77 minutes before three late goals. Five different Leeds players were on target.

Leeds Team News

Leeds currently have two central defenders out injured. Robin Koch is missing long-term and Diego Llorente for a couple of weeks so Luke Ayling has been covering at centre back.

Pablo Hernandez is back from injury now to boost options at number ten. The big selection for Bielsa will be whether or not to start Rodrigo in support of Patrick Bamford. That gives the side much more attacking threat but far less defensive solidity for a tough away game like this.

Leeds Motivation

Bielsa is going to play for a win. As always, it will be a man-marking style all over the pitch with four or five players arriving in the box to attack crosses. Leeds and Man Utd have a serious rivalry – they really don’t like each other – so expect a physical and tetchy game.

A draw would be a great result but Leeds are just not equipped to settle for one due to their playing style.

Key Stats

Man have won 1 of their last 8 home PL matches

Man Utd have won 5 of their last 6 PL matches (D1)

Man Utd have failed to score in 3 of their last 4 home matches

Leeds have the second-worst defence in the PL (24 goals conceded)

Leeds have won 3 of their last 5 away PL matches

Leeds have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 5 away PL matches

Prediction

This feels like a match that is certain to have goals galore. Man Utd should win against a makeshift Leeds defence but don’t rule out Bielsa’s side, especially with Solskjaer’s team not exactly flying at Old Trafford.

Best Bet: Man Utd win and both teams to score at 1.70

Alternative Bet: Man Utd to win from behind at 5.75

First goalscorer: Marcus Rashford at 4.00